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An ideal product to keep wet hair tidily out of the way

As a working Mum to three young boys, my 'me time' is pretty precious and anything that enables me to spend a few extra minutes doing simple things such as having a soak in a hot bath is much appreciated. I actually received this rather basic looking 'turbie towel' as a gift from my own Mum two Christmases ago and, little did I know, that this simple product would prove to be incredibly useful over the next couple of years.

The concept of a 'turbie towel' is fairly straightforward although there are a few different variations on the market. All of them seem to be packaged along similar lines and all around the £1 or 99p mark from stockists such as Home Bargains, Wilkinsons or any similar discount store or pound shop. Essentially, the product is a shaped turban style towel designed to fit over the head and secure wet hair into place.

Using the towel is pretty straightforward as the fabric is tapered slightly so it is clear which side to use and where to position it. There are some simple instructions printed on the packaging but it is fairly self-explanatory. I place the wider edge at the back of my head and then tip my wet hair inside the remainder of the fabric, ensuring that all of it is contained inside. It then needs twisting around slightly and securing into position. This is easy to do as my towel has a fabric loop at one end and a button at the other so it fits firmly in place, keeping my long wet hair out of my way. The resulting effect is pretty good and, whilst you wouldn't want to be seen out in public wearing one of these, I have answered the door to the postman with my hair up like this. (Mind you, wearing my dressing gown is probably enough room for embarrassment!)

I find that the real benefit of this product is for those moments when I am disturbed during my bath or whilst washing my hair and have to get out to attend to something whilst my hair is soaking wet. (Sadly, this happens far more frequently than I'd like!) I found this particularly useful when my youngest son was a few months old and guaranteed to start stirring from a nap as soon as I started to relax in the bath. I also find it handy to cover my hair if I've used a deep conditioning treatment, enabling me to lie back and relax in the bath without my long hair trailing in the bath water. Most conditioning products recommend covering your hair in some way, as the added heat helps to make them more effective and using this saves getting a thick towel covered in conditioner.

Although towelling versions are available, mine is a thin microfibre variety. I find this easy to wash and dry after each use but the only disadvantage with this fabric is that it isn't particularly absorbent and isn't particularly effective at drying. I don't personally use this as a method of drying my hair, more as a way of keeping wet hair out of my way for which purpose this is ideal.

Given the low sale price of this simple product, I'm happy to recommend it as an effective means of keeping long wet hair out of the way for any purpose although you might want to choose a towelling rather than a microfibre version if you're looking for a product that will also dry hair at the same time.

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I wouldn't be without mine...!

I had no idea what a "Turbie Towel" was until I received one in my Christmas Stocking a few years back. I am now truly converted and have a small assortment of Turbie Towels, ranging from rather 'premium' offerings to more basic variations from my local Pound Shops.

To explain the item a little, a Turbie Towel is basically an item designed for wrapping around your soaking wet hair. It is usually made of a light 'towelling' sort of fabric, similar to that of a flannel for using on your face. I also have one that is made of a sort of light 'micro fibre' type material which feels extremely lightweight.

The main difference between a Turbie Towel and a 'normal' towel is its shape and size. Instead of being rectangular like a towel, the Turbie Towel is more triangular, and is shaped like a sort of hood, but with a triangular tail attached. The idea is of course to use the Turbie Towel to wrap your wet hair in, and secure it in a sort of 'turban' shape on top of your head. Thus, your wet hair is wrapped in a lightweight towel, leaving your hands free.

I find the Turbie Towel is extremely easy to use. All I need to do is bend my neck forwards, to let my shoulder-length hair hang to the front of my head. I then put the largest part of the Turbie Towel over my head and allow it's 'tail' to cover the lengths of wet hair. Then, I simply twist the 'tail' part of the Turbie Towel and pass it back on itself to the back of my head. There, I can secure the end of the 'tail' by using the elasticated 'loop' of fabric that is located there. All of this takes a mere moment, and in just a few seconds my wet hair is resting on top of my heat neatly and securely and away from my face and neck.

It could be argued that a normal towel would suffice for a makeshift turban, but there are some significant disadvantages with using this practice. Firstly, an actual towel is rather heavy and slightly cumbersome when placed on the head. True, this is probably not a huge problem for the average consumer, but for someone who suffers from extreme fatigue amongst other health complaints such as myself, I do find that a wet towel on my head can feel quite heavy and uncomfortable at times. This is no problem where the Turbie Towel is concerned as it contains a LOT less fabric than your average bath or hand towel, thanks to its smaller design. Similarly, the fabric is slightly less dense than your average towel, which adds to the extremely lightweight feel of the Turbie.

Secondly, I find that a normal towel will often unravel quite easily and fall to the ground which is again, far from ideal for somebody with limited mobility such as myself. Having to replace the fallen towel on my head again and again is rather time-consuming and, well, annoying. I have found that the Turbie Towel, in comparison, rarely comes undone once it is securely fastened via the elasticated loop.

There are other benefits to using a Turbie too. It folds away very neatly with it taking up much less room than a towel, and this makes it absolutely ideal for storing in my linen closet at home which is rather jam packed, to say the least. Likewise, I find the Turbie Towel is ideal for popping into my suitcase to go on holiday as it takes up hardly any room in my bag. I tend to pack a Turbie in my case when I travel for the simple reason that my permanent hair colour is very dark and it tends to cause a little staining or discolouration to lightly-coloured towels at times. To avoid any damage to posh Hotel towels, I simply pop one of my own Turbies in my bag, and thus, this problem is solved.

Whilst I am on the subject of hair dye, I have found the Turbie Towel works extremely well at holding my wet - and dye covered! - hair in place whilst the colour takes hold, before the rinsing process is required. I would stress however, that I have a very old Turbie that is kept purely for this purpose and so any further stains or discolouration that occurs to the fabric doesn't matter a jot. I would not recommend using a brand new Turbie for this purpose unless you want it covered in permanent hair colour, of course.

The Turbies ARE very versatile, and are ideal for using during the process of colouring my hair as detailed. They can also be used during spa treatments, sun beds, saunas and facials, although I personally don't use them for any of these purposes. I have been known to pop one on my head when carrying out my make-up routine before a night out, just to keep my long hair out of the way or when applying a particularly messy face mask from time to time. So, in case you were wondering, yes - they can be used with dry hair too.

The final benefit to using a Turbie Towel over a normal towel is that they are more economical. They require less washing and drying due to being smaller in size. You may also find that you can obtain two uses from each one before it needs washing, although this may depend on your hair type and length of course. For myself, I do prefer to pop them in the washer after each use, but they require less washing and drying space than a large towel, of course.

Turbie Towels can be purchased for around the £1 mark from most good discounted stores such as B&M and Wilkos, as well as some Pound Shops. Online retailers include Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) and eBay (www.eBay.co.uk) where prices start at around £1.30 plus postage costs. I don't think I have ever paid over £2 for a Turbie which I think is excellent value for money.

I can't think of one single negative point when considering this item, and it is therefore something that I highly recommend with full stars in the product rating score. I think they are an absolute godsend and I wouldn't be without mine at all!

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5/5

I picked this up from my local Wilkinson's a few months ago as it seemed like a bargain at just a pound.

I wasn't sure if this would actually be any good due to how cheap it was but I love it - it's brilliant! Since buying mine I've bought several more; one for my mum and two back-ups to use when the others are wet. All of mine are white, but there are a few other colours available including pink, blue, black and orange.

The turbie towel comes in a simple cardboard box which is easy to open and it's recycable. The branding is pretty boring in my opinion but it's nice enough and the box has all of the information needed on it such as the product name and a picture of a woman with the turbie towel on her hair which gives a good idea of what the product is/what it does. The back of the box is particularly handy as it has a step by step picture guide on how to use the product.

The towel itself is like a long piece of fabric. It's wide at one end with a thinner bit towards the other end. The material (100 percent cotton) is nice and soft and very lightweight. While this doesn't dry my hair, the material is really absorbent so it soaks up any moisture while I'm wearing it meaning that blow drying it doesn't take quite as long.

Putting the turbie towel on is a bit fiddly at first but I soon got the hang of it. To put it on I simply put the towel over head with the wider part at back of head like a hood, tip my head forward so that my hairs all together and then tuck my hair into the front part and twist it all up. I then attatch the front bit to the hoop on the back. It sounds complicated I know, but it really isn't and it takes a matter of minutes to do.

I have got long, thick hair so I always dry my hair off with a normal towel before I use this to get most of the moisture off. The turbie towel is one size fits all and all of my hair can easily fit into it without it feeling like it's too tight and it's not uncomfortable - even when I'm moving around doing bits and bobs it doesn't pull on my hair and it feels secure on my head, so I don't have to move around at a slower pace as I know that it won't fall off.

I usually wear this after my evening bath/shower when I can't be bothered to blow dry my hair. It stops my damp hair from getting my clothes wet and it also keeps my hair out of my face which I find handy when I'm cleansing and moisturising. The towel absorbs moisture well and it's never soaking after I've used it. It dries quickly after use - within a day and any smells from hair products don't linger on the material.

Overall, highly recommended.

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A great product

Having my hair wrapped up in a massive towel after having a bath or shower annoys the hell out of me. As I have quite long hair, it gets pretty heavy when soaking wet and add to that a big towel, soaking up the water and it all becomes quite uncomfortable. When I saw the Turbie Towel in Wilkos one day, I decided to give it a go.

Price and availabilityMy Turbie Towel came from Wilkos and cost only 99p at the time although after looking at the website, it doesn't seem like they are available anymore. They are available to buy on Amazon from 88p to £5 with the choice of different colours, whereas my only choice was white. I would have preferred black.

What is it exactly?The Turbie Towel is a 100% cotton towel that looks like a turban once on your head. In order to use the towel, you start to put it on like a normal towel after washing your hair but instead of having lots of left over material, you push the end of it through a little loop which keeps it securely in place.

Using the Turbie TowelAs I have said, I mainly use this for just after I have washed my hair before blow drying it. I always put on my make up before doing my hair so the Turbie Towel keeps my hair com-pletely out of my face while I do this. Sometimes, when using a normal towel, it gets so heavy that it falls off my head but I don't have this problem with the Turbie Towel. It stays perfectly in place until I remove it which is fantastic.

OverallI really love my Turbie Towel and use it all of the time. It dries out pretty quickly and keeps my wet hair out of my face. 99p well spent!!

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well worth trying

I have fairly long hair, as do both my daughters, so towels are forever in the washing machine as you can imagine. It seems to have become the habit for my daughters to use a towel for drying the body whilst at least one more for drying the hair so I was pleased to find a product that saves me washing numerous towels quite so often.

I had seen these Turbie Towels on the high street for a few pounds, on Amazon for £1.50, then finally I was tempted trying one when I saw them in our local pound shop. If you are really interested in saving the pennies I believe they are 99p in Wilkinsons....

Since then I have purchased 2 more because they are so good once you remember to add it to your bath/ shower routine ( at first we usually forgot to take them out of the airing cupboard!).

The picture featured by Dooyoo is a good clear one as you can see how the Turbie fits plus you can see the directions on how to use it on the right hand side - often pictures speak louder than words but here goes...Firstly I think it is best to use another towel to take the excess water off the hair, bend over, place the Turbie over the back of the neck,, twist the hair within the hood, then button up to the loop. Sounds complicated but takes only a second so it is probably clearer to follow the pictures on the box than read my attempt.

They come in different colours so we have white and yellow and basically they are well-designed, lightweight towels which absorb well and wash & dry easily after use. They are not as thick as premier towels but good enough to stop any dripping and once buttoned up the hair, however heavy, does not seem to move much at all which means you can do more or less what you like without having to wrestle with normal wet towels which inevitably, even when wrapped turban-style, come undone after any exertion.

I have to say, for a quid, these are a pretty good buy as they last for ages and are useful to have at home or for taking away on holiday as they fold up neatly, take up very little space and dry much quicker than a normal towel. The Turbie Towel is a nifty invention and well worth trying out in our opinion.

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4 stars, because it's not quite as absorbent as I'd like

When I started uni back in 2005, one of the things I got for Christmas was a Turbie Towel from my mum. It drives her absolutely mad that I use two towels for every bath or shower I take, but I do have long, thick hair and it's horrible when you have loads of wet hair dripping down your back. I don't like to put my hair up too soon after washing it because hair is much weaker when it's wet. So the Turbie Towel was a pretty good solution.

It's basically a curved, short towel which narrows a lot further along. To use, you simply place the wider end over your head, cover your hair with the rest, then twist it all and put it through the loop like a turban. I've found the easiest way to use it is to tip your head forward so your hair falls straight down, but it's a lot simpler than I've described it!

The towel itself isn't particularly thick, but it does stay in place and it's a much better solution than simply wrapping a big thick towel around your hair, because it inevitably comes undone or falls off. It's not the most attractive look, but it's good when you're in a hurry and don't want your hair to make your clothes wet, or when you're getting ready for bed and want your hair to dry a bit before blow drying.

I have found that, as the Turbie Towel is quite thin, it sometimes gets a bit soggy and I've had it so long it's less absorbent than it was. For that reason, I tend to quickly towel dry my hair before putting it in the Turbie Towel. It's available online and on the high street for a few quid - less if you shop around - and makes a nice secondary present or stocking filler. It can be bought in various colours (mine's yellow), and it's easily washable. I just chuck mine in with my clothes or towels and it comes out looking practically new. The only thing I wasn't massively keen on was the big cardboard box packaging, which obviously needs to be recycled. I would've preferred a small waterproof bag for easy travelling.

Storing is easy as well; you could put it on the radiator or in an airing cupboard to dry faster, but unless I've soaked it through mine will dry through within a day of hanging on my wardrobe door. As it's small and light, it really does cut down on towel usage, and as my house is only small, I love having things that don't take up much space. Of course, this isn't a necessity product, but I do find it very useful, and unless your hair is short enough to fit in a hand towel, you'll benefit from this as well.

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towels your hair!!

I have quite thick hair and it has been at various legnths throughout my adult life. From short and spikey to shoulder legnth. I wash my hair around 3 times a week and more recently due to having a toddler and full time job i am constantly juggling more than one thing at a time. A relaxing bath, or shower is a rarity these days, and i am always thinking of the next thing i need to be doing.

Generally when i am washing my hair and use a towel, no matter what technique i adopt, trying to put the washing in the machine or loading the dishwasher with my hair wrapped in a towel, usually leads to a wet neck and the towel ending up over my face or on the floor?!

Until i had a wander around my local 'cheapie store'....

Looking in the health and beauty section, i came across this at a very cheap £1 ( i am sure that this may have retailed higher, but it must have been my lucky day!), the Turbie Towel in all its glory, with a very smug looking lady with her hair in one, and her flawless skin on the packaging of the product.

The Turbie towel is a towel shaped rather like a pyramid that is extendable enough to fit around the base of your head at the one end, and tapering to a point at the other. Believe it or not it is towelling in material (lol) and edged so that as not to frey. At the larger base end of the turbie towel, is an elastic loop in which you are able to pull the point of the towel through to keep it in place, a little like a pony tail.

Mine is white with the proud logo of Turbie towel in pink and black at the back on the base of the product.

It is as simple as flipping your head forward when it has been washed and placing the lager end around the base of your head, twisting the outer edge of the towel with your hair inside and, once you have lifted you head up again, pulling the narrow end through the elastic!

It stays in place very effectively to the point that i am able to get on with child and household bits while my hair is in it, when it was both long and short. Simply pull the tapered end of the towel back through the elastic to take it off, simple as that!!

The turbie towel can be washed as you would your other towels and i have not found it to have lost shape at all.

I wouldnt say that the product dries the hair, more that it takes the 'sogginess' out, helping to stop the dripping and leaves your hair damp. You are able to simply put your hair straight in it and also use it as a towel and rub your hair dry somewhat.

This product is really easy to use and clean, and was very cheap indeed, what more can i say, it does what it should do very well. 5/5 from me!!

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a whole new meaning to "twist and shout"

I first discovered this several years ago when my Aunt bought us one each for a stocking filler pressie one Christmas. As me and my sister both had long hair - it was ideal.

My own hair is very thick and is a pain in the neck to dry, so I like to wrap it up and keep it off my face until I go out. I lost my original one so bought another one. It was perfect. It meant I could put the my towel on not only to keep the hair off my face, but to apply make up without getting powder or foundation in my hair, could apply face masks without having to tie my hair back and the towelling material caught the majority of the moisture from my hair so when it came to drying my hair, half the job was done.

Using this Product:

The "twist" is very easy. You simply put your hair into the towel, wrap it up on your head and then meet the elastic band at the back with the material - simple! I think this would make a fantastic stocking filler and I'm going to buy a few myself for this year's Christmas presents.

Advantages: When putting on make up (or face masks) it is ideal. It scrapes your hair right back off your face. I found that my hair dried a lot quicker with the towel on. Just generally kept my hair back off my face. It was the weight of a face cloth but the thickness of an ordinary towel - when I put a towel in my hair it often falls out as the towel is thick and heavy whereas this product is designed to stay in place once it's twisted in.

Disadvantages: I couldn't find any, to be honest!

Conclusions and Recommendations:

I have very, very thick hair and found this product to be absolutely fantastic but I have heard contrasting views on it drying hair - well from me I can say it made drying my hair easier. It's easy to use, soft and dries so quick after being washed (quicker than a blooming towel that seems to take an age!). I'd recommend this product to anyone with long hair - or anyone who uses face masks on a weekly basis as it scrapes back all the hair (all those little annoying hang downs included) from the face.

They're not too expensive and I picked mine up for a couple of pounds and would work great as a gift or stocking filler.

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Easy to use and absorbs excess water from your hair.

My hair is waist length and very thick, so when it came to hair-washing time I would frequently tussle with the towel. Either it was too small to contain my hair - or else I'd try the bath towel which would form nicely into a turban, but would threaten to break my neck with the weight of wet hair and towel.

When I saw the Turbie Towel (and it only cost around £1) I couldn't resist trying it.

I wondered if it would actually work with my hair being so long, but I needn't have worried. The Turbie contained my hair neatly.

It's a nifty little thing. It has almost a teardrop shape. The widest part of the hood goes to the back of your neck (there's a button there - on the Turbie, not your neck...). You put your head upside down, put on the Turbie, shove your hair inside and twist the tapered end round as if you were squeezing out all the water (although you shouldn't do it quite that tightly or it won't be comfortable). Take the twisted part over your head and fix the loop (on the tapered end) around the button on the back.

The fabric is very absorbent. I tend to wash my hair first thing in the morning. Once it is rolled up in the Turbie, I go about dressing, making breakfast, eating it, etc. By that time, the water has been slurped up and my hair is no longer dripping wet.

My hair then takes very little time to finish off with the hair dryer. I wouldn't go back to using a towel. The Turbie is far better.

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Worth the money

Turbie Towel

Description: Towels & Linens / Designed to stay on your head!

Basically, this is a cotton wrap (100% cotton) if you imagine a turban style and you get the picture!. It is designed to stay on your head while you move around, allowing your hair to dry naturally without the inconvenience of using a towel which can fall off.

I had seen these around but never considered buying one. However, Mrs Assasin came home with a couple recently. She had bought them on a buy one, get one free basis paying £2.99 from a local store. I believe they retail in places like Wilkinson's too. I must admit, it did sit in the box for a while, but I finally gave in and gave it a shot (more to do with the fact that every time she saw me in a towel, she would say "why don't you use that thing I bought you?" than me thinking it would be useful!)

Was it useful? Actually, it surprised me by being a lot more effective than I thought it would be!

All I had to do was towel off the excess water from my head with a separate towel then place the turbie towel on the back of my head, so that the elasticated loop is at the back of the head. You then twist it up onto your head, push the end of the towel through the little loop and tie.

And it genuinely did stay in place!

Was it more effective than a normal towel, well maybe, simply because it doesn't move around or fall off. Mrs Assasin uses hers to put her makeup on too as it keeps the hair off her face, and swears by it. I think it may be more useful for a woman, simply because I don't tend to wander round with the towel on my head for very long, but it definitely does what it promises to.

I would recommend this, it is a simple yet useful invention, and for the price, you cannot complain!

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a head towel

I just don't have as much time as I used to, now that I have a little one crawling around, to give my hair the much needed attention that it needs and deserves. Needless to say that my hair hasn't been the most important of things to deal with of late and if I were to describe my hair as 'wild and frizzy', it would be an understatement.

I have shoulder length curly hair which takes a long time to dry. My preferred method of drying is to let it dry naturally, but this can take a few hours. So I usually end up blasting it with a hair dryer (which makes it frizzier) and putting my hair up in a ponytail.

I saw the Turbie Towel at my local Wilkinson's store for 99p in the beauty section (they sell for a few pounds if you buy them from shopping channels or from the internet). It was one of those impulse buys and as it only cost 99p I wasn't too bothered if I never used it again. But this has to be one of my 'best buys' for a long time, as it is very useful.

Why is it called a 'Turbie' towel? Must be because it looks like a turban, but it doesn't turbo-dry your hair! The Turbie Towel is a 100% pure White cotton wrap that fits perfectly around your head and has a non-slip loop system to keep in place. It is lightweight and not as heavy as normal bath towels and dries hair quickly.

You can use it to dry your hair after a shower or to keep your hair from your face when applying fake tan/moisturiser.

Using the Turbie towel is very easy. Towel dry the excess water from your hair with a separate towel then place the towel on the back of your head, so that the elastic loop is at the back. Twist you hair wrapped in the towel and place on top of your head. You then insert the end of the towel through the elastic loop and tie, like you would a ponytail. That's it, no more to it.

It stays in place for as long as you want it to. Like an ordinary towel is it machine washable and as it is thin and light, it dries in no time at all. I don't have any complaints at all about the towel and can't think of any disadvantages.

Why do I like it? It lets me carry on doing the usual things that I do around the house while keeping my hair off my face and drying it naturally. It stops my hair from being frizzy and lets me wear my hair down, without me having to wait hours for my hair to dry. A must have bargain at 99p.

For more information, please visit: http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0181293

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Recommended as a holiday item

During Xmas I took a quick walk around our local Wilko's store and these Turbie Towels were hanging on practically every corner I passed. I passed them a few times without really looking then gave into temptation and picked one up. I noticed it was only 99p so thought I'd give one a try.

It comes in a box that explains how to use it, that it's the "wrap that won't fall off your head" and that it's perfect for saunas, facials, sun protection and hair drying. There is a picture of a woman wearing one on the front (as above) and the box is mostly pink. I've only ever seen these in Wilko's but you can probably buy them elsewhere too.

The Turbie Towel is supposed to be a way to wrap a towel around your wet hair and secure it so it doesn't fall off. I have hair almost to my shoulder blades and towels regularly unwind and fall off when I've washed my hair so this seemed like a great idea.

The towel itself is quite thin material, it looks a bit like a giant towelling comma with a semi-circle you place on your head and a long tail for the hair itself. The idea is you wash your hair then place this on your head, twist the tail section with your hair inside firmly and take it over to the back of your head where it can be tucked into an elastic loop at the back to secure it.

I bought one, took it home and washed it. The Turbie Towel is quite compact and folds down to about the size of a flannel so it would be a very convenient item to take away with you if you were short of suitcase space. It's very light and dries quite quickly too.

But does it work? Yes, it does stay on your head, the elastic loop is a bit fiddly to get the twisted towel inside but once in there it does stay put.

The downside is the twisted towelling is like a rope effect and this means you have this on the back of your head so if, like me, you wash your hair then get in the bath for a soak it's uncomfortable to lean on. With normal towels you can spread the material out behind your head to prevent this bulky lump effect but with the Turbie towel you can't.

Also I found my hair was making a break for it! Within a short space of time I had hair coming out of the Turbie at the sides and the back but not at the front. So half my hair stayed secure but the rest thought it was time for the great escape!

This makes it partially successful, it does stay on your head which is what they promise it will do but it doesn't seem to fit snugly enough around your hair to keep it all under the towel. The other small downside is it doesn't dry hair as much as a normal towel and I found my hair needed a lot more blow drying than usual.

Do I recommend it? I do actually. It is small, light, easy to pack into a bag or suitcase and dries quickly so there are plenty of good points about this Turbie towel. As hair doesn't fall down onto your face it's ideal for wearing when doing make up or a face pack but it doesn't hold all your hair inside for any length of time and can be uncomfortable to lay on.

For these reasons I'll give it 3 stars but it has plenty of pluses and as it costs only 99p doesn't break the bank either.